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Friday, November 19, 2010

As cooler weather approaches, some of us with MS will feel a burden lifted as heat no longer pulls us down. There will be increased energy. We think more clearly and can be more active. If you are one that experiences this change in season in this manner, go for it. Do those projects you’ve been putting off, make those vacation or mini vacation plans, get outside and enjoy the crisp cool air Fall has to offer.

However, it is only a matter of a few weeks before the shortened days, minimal hours of available daylight and even colder temperatures drive many of us inside. For some, this begins a seemingly unending time of darkness, low energy, mood changes, difficulty sleeping and generally feeling less happy with ourselves and our lot in life.

Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.

BOULDER, CO(KUNC) - Research at the University of Colorado Boulder may lead to a drug that would address both the pain and paralysis of multiple sclerosis, or MS.

The obvious symptoms of MS are tremors and paralysis. But the majority of people with MS also suffer from chronic pain, for which there are currently no available drugs, says Linda Watkins, a distinguished professor of Neuroscience at CU. So her team set out to test chronic pain treatments and what they found exceeded their expectations.

"What was surprising was that they had such dramatic effects on arresting and reversing paralysis as well," says Watkins.

Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.

Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.

Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

In multiple sclerosis, patches of myelin and underlying nerve fibers in the eyes, brain, and spinal cord are damaged or destroyed.

The cause is unknown but may involve an attack by the immune system against the body's own tissues (autoimmune reaction).

Usually, periods of relatively good health alternate with episodes of worsening symptoms.

People may have vision problems and abnormal sensations, and movements may be weak and clumsy.

Usually, doctors base the diagnosis on symptoms and results of a physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Treatment includes corticosteroids, drugs that help keep the immune system from attacking the body, and drugs to relieve symptoms.

Often, the disorder slowly worsens, disabling some people, but life span is unaffected unless the disorder is very severe.

The term “multiple sclerosis” refers to the many areas of scarring (sclerosis) that result from destruction of the tissues that wrap around nerves (myelin sheath). This destruction is called demyelination. Sometimes the nerve fibers that send messages (axons) are also damaged. Over time, the brain may shrink in size because axons are destroyed.

In the United States, about 400,000 people, mostly young adults, have multiple sclerosis. Most commonly, it begins between the ages of 20 and 40. It is more common among women. Most people have periods of relatively good health (remissions) alternating with periods of worsening symptoms (flare-ups or relapses). Relapses can be mild or debilitating. Recovery during remission is good but incomplete. Thus, the disorder worsens slowly over time.

Causes

The cause unknown, but a likely explanation is that people are exposed early in life to a virus (possibly a herpesvirus or retrovirus) or some unknown substance that somehow triggers the immune system to attack the body's own tissues (autoimmune reaction—see Autoimmune Disorders).The autoimmune reaction results in inflammation, destruction of myelin, and damage to the myelin sheath and the underlying nerve fiber.

Heredity seems to have a role in multiple sclerosis. About 5% of people with the disorder have a brother or sister who is affected, and about 15% have a close relative who is affected. Also, multiple sclerosis is more likely to develop in people with certain genetic markers on the surface of their cells called human leukocyte antigens (see Biology of the Immune System: Recognition). These markers help the body to distinguish self from nonself and thus know which substances to attack.

Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.

Background

There is a strong maternal parent-of-origin effect in determining susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS). One hypothesis is that an abnormal intrauterine milieu leading to impaired fetal development could plausibly also result in increased susceptibility to MS. A possible marker for this intrauterine insult is the presence of a non-fatal congenital anomaly.

Methods

We investigated whether or not congenital anomalies are associated with MS in a population-based cohort. We identified 7063 MS index cases and 2655 spousal controls with congenital anomaly information from the Canadian Collaborative Project on Genetic Susceptibility to MS (CCPGSMS).

Results

The frequency of congential anomalies were compared between index cases and controls. No significant differences were found.

Conclusions

Congenital anomalies thus do not appear to be associated with MS. However, we did not have complete data on types and severity of congenital anomalies or on maternal birth history and thus this study should be regarded as preliminary.

Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.

NEW YORK and NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., Nov. 17, 2010/PRNewswire/ -- Provid Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a drug discovery company, and Fast Forward, LLC, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's subsidiary devoted to bridging the gap between research and drug development, today announced an expansion of their partnership to support Provid's preclinical studies of their candidate MS drug, PV-267. This novel, highly selective small molecule is designed to block a critical step in the autoimmune process of MS, which leads to the destruction of the body's protective myelin in the central nervous system and to the ultimate accumulation of disability.

The expanded partnership will enable Provid to enhance knowledge of the immune mechanisms involved in the activity of PV-267, paving the way for future development and clinical studies. The biological studies will be carried out by Dr. Thomas Forsthuber, Provid's collaborator and a leading immunologist at the University of Texas San Antonio.

"The partnership between Fast Forward and Provid was begun in May 2009 and helped fund important research, CLICK to continue reading

Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.

SYMPTOMS of MS

In multiple sclerosis , damage to the myelin in the central nervous system (CNS), and to the nerve fibers themselves, interferes with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain and spinal cord and other parts of the body. This disruption of nerve signals produces the primary symptoms of MS, which vary depending on where the damage has occurred.

Over the course of the disease, some symptoms will come and go, while others may be more lasting.

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